


Now Boarding

by infectedscrew



Category: Batman (Comics), DCU (Comics)
Genre: Dick has no filter, First Meeting, M/M, No Vigilantes AU, Running away to the circus
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-08
Updated: 2016-05-08
Packaged: 2018-06-07 02:28:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 744
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6781720
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/infectedscrew/pseuds/infectedscrew
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prompt: Dick & Tim meeting on a bus!</p>
            </blockquote>





	Now Boarding

There was just something about buses that brought out the best in people. Maybe it was the vague reminder of old school days. Or the constant reminder that city buses were just herpes on wheels. Or maybe it was the idea that a bus going across the country tended to be the moment in a person’s life when everything changes.

Dick had always been a fan of the bus.

It was just a new opportunity to meet new people. Just like the circus, he was sure to be going somewhere new and find more creatures like him along the way.

Only this bus, he realized as he slid into his seat next to a sleeping figure, had a different kind of creature all together.

Dick eyed the tiny body next to him. He tilted his head, trying to guess gender or even age. It was impossible. The person was too small and curled up too tight.

Not giving it a thought, he reached over and shook the person’s shoulder.

With a hard jerk, the person woke with a squeak.

Dick reeled back, lifting his hands. “Sorry, sorry. Just wanted to make sure you were okay.”

Wide blue eyes stared at him, almost unseeing for a long moment. Then, slowly, the person relaxed. “Yes, I’m fine,” they said quietly.

“I didn’t mean to wake you.”

A small head shake followed by a tiny yawn answered him. The person slowly uncurled in their seat, revealing a very slender young man. “It’s fine. We’re in New York now, right?”

Dick nodded. “Yeah. I just got on. Were you supposed to get off?”

Another head shake. “No. I’m going to Canada.”

“Yeah? Me too,” Dick grinned. “My name’s Dick. Yours?”

There was slight hesitation before the answer, “Tim.”

“Good name. I like that name.”

Tim looked him over, as if guessing his sanity. “It’s an all right name, I suppose.”

“If you don’t mind my saying, you don’t look like someone who would be on a Greyhound to Canada.”

“What sort of person do I look like then?” Tim asked, a little stiffly.

“Well… Like someone who has a car.”

“I had a car.”

“Oh, did it get stolen?”

Tim shook his head.

“Break down?”

Tim shook his head again.

“Did… Did you lose it?”

“You could say that.”

Dick took a closer look at the male seated next to him. He looked too clean and proper to be on a bus. His hair looked too soft and his hands too callous free. “I think I’ve seen you before,” he admitted.

“Probably,” Tim muttered, crossing his arms and starting to curl back up again. “My dad was in the newspapers a lot.”

And that’s when it clicked for him. “Oh! You’re the Drake kid. I read about your dad’s company totally bombing and how he locked himself up in his house. No one even knows if he’s alive. And…” Dick trailed off, swallowing. “Sorry.”

Tim had shifted to stare irresolutely out the window, shoulders tight and knees pressed to his chest. “It’s fine,” he said so quietly it could have been in Dick’s imagination.

“No, really. I’m sorry.” Dick moved his hand back to the tense shoulder. “I shouldn’t have gone on like that. Can we start over?”

“Start over? How?”

“Like this…” Dick straightened up, clearing his throat. “Hey there, I’m Dick Grayson. What’s your name?”

Tim stared at him in confusion for a long enough period that the bus started and pulled out of the terminal. Finally, a quiet smile crossed his features. “Hello Dick. I’m Tim Drake.”

“Why are you going to Canada, Tim Drake?” Dick asked.

“I’m… Going to stay with relatives. Why are you going to Canada, Dick Grayson?” Tim asked, silently admitting to himself that maybe this bus ride wasn’t going to be so bad.

“I’m going back to my old circus.”

Tim’s curiousity sparked. “Circus?”

For the next few hours, Dick babbled on about his circus life, his parents and how much he missed it. He managed to pull a small circus story out of Tim. It hadn’t been one he expected to hit so close to home, but he was happy for it either way.

Dick Grayson loved buses. He loved meeting new people and visiting new places. But this time he was sure that this would be his favorite bus ride yet.

If only because he convinced one Tim Drake to run away and join the circus with him.


End file.
